Yesterday a lawsuit by a former University of North Alabama student came to light. The young woman is claiming that she was raped by Dr. David Braxton Dickerson on a trip to Orlando in November 2015. No police reports were filed at that time in Florida, and according to the suit, the Florence police were not notified of the crime.

What else can this young woman do to achieve justice? While Alabama has no statute of limitations on criminal actions concerning sexual assaults, other states do. What is the law in Florida where the alleged rape took place?

Florida gives victims of sex crimes eight years to come forward. In other words, Jane Doe can still press criminal charges in Orlando if she so wishes. Will this interfere with her civil suit against Dickerson and the university? The two actions should be totally separate. Records show that Dr. Dickerson was previously charged with assault and rape in another jurisdiction. While that will not be admissible in the criminal case, it should be in Doe’s civil suit.

PNS will continue to follow this case and report more information as it becomes available.